Sun Jian

Sun Jian (155-191) was a Chinese warlord of the late Han dynasty. He was a powerful general from Jiangdong who fathered Sun Ce, Sun Quan, and Sun Shangxiang, who would go on to found the kingdom of Eastern Wu after maintaining and expanding their father's domains.

Biography
Sun Jian was born in Fuchun County, Han China in 155, a descendant of the strategist Sun Tzu. When he was 17, he killed a pirate on the River Qiantang and became a renowned young warrior who was offered an imperial office. He was made a magistrate, and, in 184 AD, he participated in the suppression of the Yellow Turban Rebellion. A year later, Sun Jian took part in the suppression of Bian Zhang's rebellion in Liang Province, followed by the suppression of Ou Xing's rebellion. In 190, he also took part in the alliance against Dong Zhuo, serving as one of the coalition's major commanders; Yuan Shu was ordered to command the rear. Yuan Shu was jealous of Sun Jian's glorious position, leading to a rivalry between the two men which climaxed at the Battle of Si Shui Gate, where Yuan Shu withheld supplies from Sun Jian's embattled forces until the Allies captured a nearby supply base from Dong Zhuo's army and used the supplies to feed Sun Jian's tired troops. After the Battle of Hu Lao Gate, Sun Jian led his army into the burning capital of Luoyang, where he found the Imperial Seal in a well and took it for himself. Sun Jian then lied about his possession of the seal to Yuan Shao and sought to return home as the coalition fell apart. Yuan Shao sensed that Sun Jian had lied to him, so he persuaded Jing Province governor Liu Biao to attack Sun Jian as Sun Jian and his army marched through Jing. Sun Jian refused to hand over the Imperial Seal to Liu Biao, leading to war. Sun Jian's army was badly beaten and barely escaped, and he allied with Yuan Shao's rival Yuan Shu and attempted to avenge his earlier defeat with another attack on Jing. Sun Jian was lured into a trap by Lu Gong, whom he chased into a valley where Huang Zu ordered his archers to fire on Sun Jian. Sun Jian was killed by the arrows, and his son Sun Ce led a fighting withdrawal through Jing and back to the family's home territory.